The present invention is directed, in general, to wireless communication systems and methods of operating the same, and, in particular, to non-realtime communication systems for converting voice messages to text messages, summarizing and indexing the text messages, and transmitting a text message index to a subscriber.
The ever-increasing availability and popularity of wireless communication can be linked to technological gains that have provided more efficient, reliable and cost-effective mobile devices, such as message pagers, wireless telephones and personal communication services (xe2x80x9cPCSxe2x80x9d) devices, as examples. Due to their mobility and low power requirements, conventional mobile devices impose significant design constraints upon the wireless communication networks and base stations that support them. Nevertheless, the demand for better and cheaper mobile devices and wireless communication services continues to grow at a rapid pace.
The selection of one mobile device over another is usually the result of a simple cost benefit analysisxe2x80x94the cost of a particular mobile device, the anticipated life span for that device, the usefulness of the various services that can be subscribed to using the device, etc. Message paging subscribers, for instance, demand powerful and sophisticated features (e.g., voice mail, e-mail, wide area paging, out of area roaming, voice messaging, voice response, etc.) that often conflict with the physical restrictions of minimized size and increased battery life. The size of conventional pagers makes it difficult to incorporate advanced features requiring interaction with the subscriber (e.g., integration of control switches/keypads into message pager).
The trend to enhance services has been to incorporate automated call processing techniques into communication systems and system services. Many contemporary message paging systems, for instance, include automated interfaces for interacting with callers. Commonly, these systems enable a caller to the system to leave a message for a subscriber of the system by leaving a call-back number using the telephone keypad.
More advanced systems enable callers to interact with the system by responding to system queries using their telephone keypads. At some point during this interaction, the caller is asked whether he wishes to leave a xe2x80x9ctextxe2x80x9d (alphanumeric) or voice (e.g., voice mail, voice message page, etc.) message. A positive response concerning the xe2x80x9ctextxe2x80x9d message will cause the system to transfer the caller to a system operator to whom the caller dictates a message. After the dictation is complete, the system operator often verifies the text message by reading the same back to the caller. Following the caller""s approval, the text message is then transmitted to the subscriber.
Cross-referenced U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/001,717 (U.S. Patent Application Ser. No.09/001,717) increases the utility of non-realtime messaging call processing systems by providing the means for recognizing speech from a variety of callers and, in response thereto, for generating substantially equivalent text messages. The processing means uses data patterns representing oral phrases specific to the non-realtime messaging system. The resultant system automates, at least in part, the foregoing dictation process, by translating voice to text for delivery of voice messages to text pagers and by allowing file based automated processing of messages.
However, the present art (including U.S. Patent Application Ser. No.09/001,717) does not address all problems associated with delivery of voice messages to non-realtime text-based communication systems. One such problem is the need for communications between two or more languages. A second problem occurs when a multitude of calls is received for one destination or subscriber, resulting in message-overload for the subscriber.
The latter problem is best illustrated by the fact that some subscribers, such as executives, get inundated with wireless messages. Valuable time is consumed when the subscriber has to review every message in order to find those requiring a priority response. Further, the transmission of multiple messages increases service costs since more system time is required for message transmission. In addition, a higher priced subscriber device (pager) may be required for additional message storage capability, more sophisticated decoding/encoding capability, increased power requirements, etc. Often, these subscriber device enhancements also result in an increase in the physical size and weight of the subscriber device, resulting in a corresponding decrease in user satisfaction.
In order to economically deliver messages to the subscriber""s pager, the problems associated with message transfer, storage, and display are frequently addressed by condensing the resultant caller text message into a message summary. However, in some cases, not even message summaries are enough and further improvements are needed to condense the message summaries.
To address the above-discussed foreign language deficiencies of the prior art, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide, in -a non-realtime messaging system, a means for processing oral messages, including messages in one or more foreign languages, received from a variety of callers and, in response thereto, for generating substantially equivalent text messages, including text messages in one or more foreign languages and the language of the subscriber. Further, it is another primary object of the present invention to provide, in a non-realtime messaging system, a system for processing oral messages received from a variety of callers and for generating substantially equivalent summary text messages and an index listing of the summary text messages.
Accordingly, in one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a non-realtime messaging system comprising: 1). a messaging controller capable of receiving from callers oral messages directed to a first subscriber of the non-realtime messaging system and capable of transmitting text messages to a communications device associated with the first subscriber; 2) a translating controller, associated with the messaging controller, capable of generating translated text messages, wherein each of the translated text messages corresponds to one of the received oral messages; 3) a data repository capable of storing the translated text messages; and 4) a summary index controller, associated with the messaging controller and the data repository, capable of generating from the translated text messages a subscriber message index, wherein the subscriber message index comprises a reduced summary of one or more of the translated text messages.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the summary index controller generates the subscriber message index according to criteria selected by the first subscriber.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the subscriber message index comprises a listing indicating a number of translated text messages received from particular callers.
According to still another embodiment of the present invention, the subscriber message index comprises a listing indicating a level of urgency associated with selected ones of the translated text messages.
According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the subscriber message index comprises a listing indicating the content of selected ones of the translated text messages.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the subscriber message index comprises a listing indicating a number of translated text messages received from at least one organizational group associated with one or more callers.
According to a still further embodiment of the present invention, the messaging controller is capable of receiving from the subscriber a selection message indicating particular ones of the translated text messages that the first subscriber wishes to receive.
According to a still further embodiment of the present invention, the messaging controller, in response to receipt of the selection message transmits to the first subscriber selected ones of the translated text messages.
The foregoing Summary of the Invention outlines, rather broadly, some advantageous features of various embodiments of the present invention so that those of ordinary skill in the art may better understand the Detailed Description that follows. Additional features of the invention will be described hereafter that form the subject matter of the Claims of the Invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art should appreciate that they can readily use the disclosed conception and specific embodiments as a basis for designing or modifying other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention in its broadest form.
Before undertaking the Detailed Description, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document: the terms xe2x80x9cincludexe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9ccomprise,xe2x80x9d as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term xe2x80x9cor,xe2x80x9d is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases xe2x80x9cassociated withxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cassociated therewith,xe2x80x9d as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, be a property of, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term xe2x80x9ccontrollerxe2x80x9d means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation, such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware or software, or some combination of at least two of the same. It should be noted that the functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases.